by Linda Belanger, Dissident Voice, February 21st, 2012
On Thursday, February 9th, 2011, Bell Media, owners of CTV and CFRA Radio in Ottawa, fired talk show host Michael Harris. Harris is a journalist of the highest integrity, a Woodrow Wilson Scholar and award winning author of numerous books, four of which have sparked Canadian Royal Commissions. He has been outspoken on Palestinian rights, environmental issues and the Harper government’s undemocratic behaviour just to name a few.
The station also fired 15 others on the same day but they were not controversial, high-profile individuals of Mr. Harris’ calibre. Bell Media, of course, denies that he was fired because of his views and cites corporate restructuring as the reason for all the dismissals. An examination of the facts indicates otherwise. Two extremely right-wing talk show hosts were retained while Harris was fired; one, Lowell Green, is 75 years old and in poor health and the second, Nick Vandergragt, is a recent hire and right-wing militarist who comes to the air waves with a strong background in truck driving.
Mississauga-based Palestine House has had government funding for its newcomer settlement and language instruction services cancelled because of what Ottawa calls the cultural centre’s “pattern of support for extremism.”
By Keira Feldman, 